I don't know whose idea it was to call this dessert a salad, but my ds loves the recipe which has a base of salted pretzels, butter, and sugar that is baked before layering with cream cheese & whipped topping and then strawberry jello and sliced strawberries. It's easy to low carb the toppings and the low carb really tastes better, but the salty sweet crust really makes it. Since I'm in Florida, we don't start thinking much about fall foods until Thanksgiving. Not sure what HTH is supposed to mean at the bottom of posts, but here it means "hotter than hades."

There is a recipe for this on this board. It is under Lowcarb Recipe Help & Suggestions. It uses a Walnut crust and Kosher Salt. It is to die for, I have made it many times. I will see if I can find my recipe. BRB.

1 6oz. box of sf strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water [COLOR=DarkRed]a little less water-sf jello doesn't "sit" as much as regular[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkRed]Fresh or frozen strawberries as much or as little as you want.[/COLOR]

Mix crushed pecans [COLOR=DarkRed](walnuts)[/COLOR]with all of the above and put in a pan. [COLOR=DarkRed]Sprinkle salt on top.[/COLOR] Bake at 400 until golden.

Boil water and mix in gelatin until dissolved, set aside until cool. [COLOR=DarkRed]When semi-set, add strawberries.[/COLOR]Make whipping cream, put in bowl and then beat cream cheese w/ splenda. Fold the two together and spread over the cooled crust. Let chill for a little bit (30 minutes maybe?), then pour over the strawberry jello and refrigerate until set.

Judy in case you are not aware, 1 cup of chopped walnuts is 16 carbs and 8 fiber where as a cup of chopped pecans is 15 carb and 10 fiber. Its not a huge amount but pecan are a few less net carbs than walnuts.

Your crust sounds fabulous. I am so excited to get a great substitute for the pretzel crust. It sounds like it will be better than the original. Thanks Sugarbabi and Walkingwoman, too. I love pecans, so I'm glad to hear they're reasonably comparable with walnuts--Thanks for that info Kevin.

I make this a lot since it's one of my husband's favorites. I use a pecan crust like the one above but I also add an egg white to it.

I now also add 1/4 tsp glucomannan to the whipping cream before whipping and it will stay stabilized.

Those are great tips, Pam. Thank You.

As I am taking a dessert on Saturday to a function and our temps will be close to 100, I thought this might be a good recipe. There will be a refrigerator available and we will be inside and not in the sun but it will be HOT. I figure I could pull from fridge, slice and serve and return to fridge.

I'm going to an early Fourth of July party this Saturday myself so I might just have to make one to take. Another lady always brings the most amazing caramel pies so I need to take something I can eat to keep myself away from them, LOL.

Enjoying my new cook book Low-Carbing Among Friends.I just read something, I thought very interesting and fits for this thread. Did you know that:

Quote "Pretzels are higher on the glycemic index than jelly beans? Yup they raise your insulin a LOT. Traditional pretzels are made with refined white flour (refined carbs) and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels leading to excessive insulin production and sudden drop in blood sugar. The longer-term health effects of eating high GI foods include obesity and other symptoms, known collectively as insulin resistance syndrome. Increased risk of diabetes is another possibility. Bottom line is if you want to lose weight, decrease inflammation, and stay healthy, keep your intake of pretzels and other refined carbs to a minimum or better yet ....never eat that stuff!"

It's very important to let everything cool or set between layers. I let the crust cool completely, sometimes make it the day before, then spread on the cream cheese layer and let that set up for a while in the fridge and then when I make the jello layer it must completely cool and start to get a little thick before pouring on the cream cheese layer.

It's very important to let everything cool or set between layers. I let the crust cool completely, sometimes make it the day before, then spread on the cream cheese layer and let that set up for a while in the fridge and then when I make the jello layer it must completely cool and start to get a little thick before pouring on the cream cheese layer.

Do you use fresh or frozen strawberries? How many/much? This is the only part on which I am unclear as too many strawberries would be too much liquid and that layer would not set up.

Thanks

I prefer to use frozen berries. I pour about 2 cups frozen whole berries into a bowl and sprinkle them with Steviva and let them thaw then I puree them and it gives me about a cup of puree. The recipe I use makes a 13x9 pan full.

I prefer to use frozen berries. I pour about 2 cups frozen whole berries into a bowl and sprinkle them with Steviva and let them thaw then I puree them and it gives me about a cup of puree. The recipe I use makes a 13x9 pan full.

Thanks again, Pam! I noticed it says 6 oz package of jello. That is the large size, right? Do you use 2 cups boiling water or less like recipe suggested?

I prefer to use frozen berries. I pour about 2 cups frozen whole berries into a bowl and sprinkle them with Steviva and let them thaw then I puree them and it gives me about a cup of puree. The recipe I use makes a 13x9 pan full.

ooooh, you puree them? Do you just prefer that mouth feel or does it set up better than slices? I was picturing sliced for some reason.

ooooh, you puree them? Do you just prefer that mouth feel or does it set up better than slices? I was picturing sliced for some reason.

I just prefer them that way and it does slice up easier. I have sometimes just mashed them up with a potato masher which leaves some larger chunks. I prefer the frozen strawberries over the fresh because they are softer but you can use fresh sliced strawberries if that's what you like. You can even totally leave out the strawberries to save carbs too.

does anyone know the sugar equivalents? - my liquid splenda is not as potent as others!!

I did some research on this thread/recipe and I think the original poster was using a sweetener called Trish's. Her 10 to 12 drops of liquid Splenda equals about 1 Tablespoon of sweetener equivalent. Her 1 1/4 tsp would equal about 1 cup of sweetener equivalent.

Preheat oven to 400*.
Add sweetener and egg white to melted butter.* Beat lightly with a fork. Mix in pecans. Press mixture into the bottom of a 13X9 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle salt on top, to taste. Bake until golden, about 7 minutes. Let crust cool completely, at least 20 minutes. Crust can also be made a day.

Whip cream with glucomannan**, vanilla and sweetener. In another bowl, beat cream cheese w/ Splenda. Gently fold the whipping cream and cream cheese mixtures together and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Boil water and mix in gelatin until dissolved; set aside until cool.

Put frozen berries in bowl and, if desired, sprinkle with sweetener to taste. Puree when thawed. There should be about 1 cup total of strawberry puree.

When Jello is semi-set, add pureed strawberries. When the mixture is the consistency of egg whites, pour the strawberry jello layer on top of the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set, about 3 to 4 hours.
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*This helps to evenly distribute sweetener, especially if using a few drops of liquid Splenda.
**Glucomannan will help stabilize the cream. Try 2 tsp. of sugar free instant vanilla pudding if you don’t have glucomannan.

Tip from PaminKY: It's very important to let everything cool or set between layers. If you don't if can be quite an ugly mess.